2016 RAM 1500 LONGHORN VIN 1C6RR6PMXGS242986

This RAM 1500 Longhorn was built in 2016. Power comes from a 3.0-litre diesel engine with six cylinders, rated at 240 hp. The gearbox is automatic. Details for this car come from a single data source and may differ from its documents.

The car was recorded with 220,668 miles on the clock. Because the clock counts miles, any figure noted in kilometres has to be converted before the two can be compared. Averaged over the car’s age, the mileage works out well above the usual annual distance, and wear on the suspension, brakes and interior should be judged with that in mind. Gaps of several years between logged figures deserve attention, as does any reading lower than the one before it. Older figures usually turn up on service invoices, inspection reports and past title paperwork.

Primary damage in the record: front and rear. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. A lift and a diagnostic check show what photos cannot: bent brackets behind a panel, chafed wiring or deployed airbags.

As a non-runner, the car needs its engine, gearbox and electrics assessed before anything else. An engine that will not start could have a simple electrical fault or internal damage, and only diagnostic work can tell which. A key was present. Condition notes are a snapshot: the car may have been worked on, stripped of parts or left standing since.

Title status in the record: salvage. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss. If any work has been done on the car since, photos and invoices should show what was replaced.

A car’s history answers three questions: who kept it, how it was looked after and what went wrong along the way. A car’s paperwork is scattered: the registry knows about owners, the workshop about repairs and the insurance company about claims. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

An engine that has had its oil changed on time is far less likely to cause trouble later, and workshop invoices are the proof. A diesel particulate filter needs regular longer drives to clean itself, so the way the car has been used matters as much as its mileage. On a car that does not run, the automatic gearbox cannot be judged on the road; the colour and smell of its fluid and a diagnostic scan give the first clues.

A VIN never contains the letters I, O or Q, which could be mistaken for digits; its 17 characters identify the maker, the model and the individual car. For this car, the VIN is 1C6RR6PMXGS242986. A VIN that differs between the documents and the car, or shows signs of tampering, is reason enough to walk away.

A VIN report shows what has been logged: earlier registrations, odometer figures, damage entries, branded titles and theft checks, wherever such data exists. A repair paid for in cash at a small workshop leaves no trace in any database, so no report can list it. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. Before making a decision about this RAM 1500 Longhorn, check the history behind VIN 1C6RR6PMXGS242986.